Buytaert Maarten, Declercq Dimitri, Depoorter Fleur, Cosijn Zerlina, Devisscher Lindsey, Raevens Sarah, Verhelst Xavier, Van Vlierberghe Hans, Geerts Anja, De Bruyne Ruth, Lefere Sander
Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Hepatology Research Unit, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Liver Research Center Ghent, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Pediatr Obes. 2025 Apr;20(4):e13174. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.13174. Epub 2024 Sep 28.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become a major public health concern. A thorough analysis of the link between ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and MASLD in the adolescent population is lacking.
Adolescent participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) pre-pandemic cohort were included. Different controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) cut-offs were used to assess MASLD. The percentage energy intake of UPF, categorized according to the NOVA classification, to total energy intake was taken as the main outcome marker. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to better quantify the causal connection between UPF and liver steatosis.
UPF consumption constituted a median 75% (62-86) of total energy intake. There was no significant correlation between UPF intake and CAP (ρ = 0.061, p = 0.091). The median proportion UPF intake was not associated with steatosis severity. SEM similarly yielded a weak and non-significant correlation of 0.078. In participants with MASLD, total energy intake was significantly higher (p < 0.001) and sugar-containing beverage (SCB) consumption showed a non-significant trend towards higher consumption.
No clinically relevant association between UPF intake and MASLD in adolescents could be demonstrated. Our results nonetheless suggest that total energy intake and consumption of SCBs are important contributors to paediatric obesity and MASLD.
代谢功能障碍相关脂肪性肝病（MASLD）已成为一个主要的公共卫生问题。目前缺乏对青少年人群中超加工食品（UPF）摄入量与MASLD之间联系的全面分析。
纳入了大流行前队列的美国国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES）中的青少年参与者。使用不同的受控衰减参数（CAP）临界值来评估MASLD。根据NOVA分类，UPF的能量摄入占总能量摄入的百分比被作为主要结果指标。采用结构方程模型（SEM）来更好地量化UPF与肝脂肪变性之间的因果关系。
UPF的摄入量占总能量摄入的中位数为75%（62 - 86）。UPF摄入量与CAP之间无显著相关性（ρ = 0.061，p = 0.091）。UPF摄入量的中位数比例与脂肪变性严重程度无关。SEM同样得出了0.078的微弱且不显著的相关性。在患有MASLD的参与者中，总能量摄入量显著更高（p < 0.001），含糖饮料（SCB）的消费呈现出消费增加的不显著趋势。
在青少年中，无法证明UPF摄入量与MASLD之间存在临床相关关联。然而，我们的结果表明，总能量摄入和SCB的消费是儿童肥胖和MASLD的重要促成因素。
